Race to IITs just got tougher; number of candidates who qualified in JEE advanced 6,360 more than last year

Chitrang Murdia who studied in Kota scored 334 out of a total of 360 marks, emerging as the topper of JEE(Advanced) 2014. Aditi from IIT Roorkee zone is the topper among female candidates.

MUMBAI: 27,151 students have come out tops from among 1.36 million who sat for entrance exams, only to find the race for an IIT seat is tougher than ever before even at this final stage.

The number of candidates who qualified in Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Advanced results announced on Wednesday is 6,360 more than last year. And, with marginally fewer seats this year, competition is fiercer.

The available seats are split into four categories and the number of qualified candidates has increased in all categories.

"A greater number of students qualifying means the competition will be tougher since the cutoffs remain the same as last year," MK Panigrahi, professorin-charge, IIT Kharagpur JEE office told ET."Last year, someone with a score of 132 out of 360 would have made it to 10,000 rank, but this year one needs 150 to make it to the same level," Mohit Sardana, director and head of Mumbai territory at leading coaching chain FIITJEE, said. 9,784 seats are available this year.

"Overall, the situation is much more competitive," he added.

The race for an IIT seat involves cracking two of the most competitive exams in the country. The first hurdle is the JEE(Main) conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), after which 1.5 lakh of the successful students make the cut for JEE (Advanced), provided the student figures among the top 20 percentile of his/her concerned XII board. The competition this year has been fiercer than before at every stage. Over 13.56 lakh students appeared for the JEE (Main) in 2014, a 7.6% increase over the 12.6 lakh students in 2013. For JEE(Advanced), 1.26 lakh students registered compared to 1.23 lakh last year.

Chitrang Murdia who studied in Kota scored 334 out of a total of 360 marks, emerging as the topper of JEE(Advanced) 2014. Aditi from IIT Roorkee zone is the topper among female candidates, securing an all-India rank of 7.